Happier Parents, Calmer Kids

Imagery

For some of us Imagery can be a very powerful tool to help manage our emotions, and is also likely to help your child do the same.

I am a very visual person, for better or worse, so when told to ‘breathe’ in a guided mindful meditation I usually picture the breath being a particular colour. It depends on what I feel I need to breathe in, blue for calm, pink for self-nurturing energy, yellow for bouncy energy etc. (and to be honest, it’s usually sparkly for added effect).

I have a friend who visualised herself as a solid, calm, unaffected Rock amongst the waves of chaos, noise and tension in her household when things were going a little haywire. The idea is to have the waves of emotion and turmoil wash over you, while you remain as strong and still as a rock. It’s really whatever visualisation or images work for you.

For children, it can be difficult to explain how they are feeling, especially when it is masked by anger, like it was initially for my daughter.

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HELPFUL RESOURCES

Managing Your Anger Poster. I found this poster from Creative Therapy Associates so helpful when sitting with my girls once they had calmed down. It helped us to talk through what emotions might have been sitting behind their anger.